Starcraft 2 Terran Strategies

The Terran have already proven themselves as one of the most popular races amongst the Blizzard Entertainment's newest strategy game, Starcraft 2. And just like the original Starcraft game that kick started the franchise more than a decade before this sequel hit the shelves, the unique attributes of the Terrans make them very versatile, meaning you have nearly unlimited options when playing them.

This is true when playing single player campaign modes, cooperative matches against virtual opponents or even against other players on what's called the "Battle.net."

What makes the Terran so versatile is their elaborate biological and mechanical units, which pack a considerable amount of firepower and, thanks to medics and SCV "repairmen", can be repaired quickly - even during combat - which can extend the life of nearly every unit. In fact, that's the key to succeeding with the Terran in nearly any situation: keeping all units repaired. Personally, I keep several medivacs with every infantry squad, and several SCV's set to auto-repair with every mechanized squad, including airships.

Starcraft 2 Terran Strategies

While the possibilities are endless, I'll break this down to three general playing styles: Ground, Air and Rush. As anyone who has read any Starcraft 2 Review or has played the original game can tell you, most players use a variation of one of these main types.

So let's take a look, shall we?

Starcraft 2 Terran Ground Strategy

Your main goal here is to build a formidable ground invasion army, capable of making short work out of any main base and even shorter work out of enemy forces they'll encounter along the way. To do so, I highly recommend a good mix of troops and mechanized units. Here's how I build my army:

Troops: I build two barracks, and equip one with the reactor (which allows you to create two units at once) and one with the tech lab (which allows you to create heavier troops). I hot key both barracks and pump out two marines at a time with the reactor barracks to every one Marauder I create at the tech barracks.

Vehicles: Terrans have two of the game's best ground units, Siege Tanks and Thors. The tanks are long-range, heavy-damage ground-to-ground units that, when in siege mode, can obliterate nearly anything in their path (including your own troops, so be careful). Thors are two-legged attack machines that inflict heavy damage to ground and air units. What I do is create two Machine Shops, equip them both with tech labs, and dedicate one to making tanks, the other one to building the Thors.

Air Support: You don't necessarily need a big air force if you're "Going Ground," but I'd highly (let me reiterate the "highly" part) recommend building a Starport anyway because you'll need a couple Medivac units. These are effectively flying medics, and keep your infantry healed up during battle. Speaking of which, don't forget to bring a couple of SCVs along to fix your vehicles.

Starcraft 2 Terran Air Strategy

Instead of overpowering your enemy on the ground, in this instance you'll be devastating him or her from the air. While some players are finding decent success building various types of fighter aircraft, I personally choose just one ship type: The Battlecruiser.

Battlecruisers are big, powerful and tough. And when you churn out enough of them and send them in as a single squadron, they'll quickly overwhelm anything they come across, usually with minimum casualties. For the full effect, make sure to get as many weapon and armor upgrades as you can at the armory.

When "going air," I find it's best to wall myself into my base early on, so enemies won't get in as easily and I can defend myself fairly effortlessly with a few well-placed bunkers and Siege Tanks. Then I can focus my precious minerals and gas resources to building the fleet (and an air strategy will require lots of resources, so be prepared). I typically wall off the choke points to my base with supply depots, as it creates a cheap barrier between my defense units and the enemies.

Starcraft 2 Terran Rush Strategy

Like the original Starcraft game, there's still plenty of room for a quick rush attack at the beginning of every game. Your strategy here is to overwhelm the enemy early before he or she has a chance to build any substantial fighting force - or if you do it properly, before a force is built at all.

Your best bet is to get two barracks up fast, and start producing Marines. As soon as you have a couple (and you know exactly where the enemy is located), send them to attack. For best results have, them walk past any defenses and attack the enemies workers. If you can knock out the economy, you've already got them beat. Keep building as your attacking, and keep sending them in. The goal here isn't to build the most technologically-advanced army on the map, it's to wipe the other guy out before he has a chance to even get started.

A word of caution: If your rush attack is repelled, be ready to build some defenses fast. Chances are the other player will send a counter attack wave your direction, so don't get caught with your Starcraft 2 pants down!

Also, be aware that it's very difficult to recover from a failed rush attack. It's possible, but requires some pretty decent game chops. This strategy is a huge gamble. If it works, you've logged a quick win with minimal effort. If it fails, well, chances are your enemy logs an equally quick win. So keep that in mind.

General Terran Strategy Tips For Starcraft 2

Here are some little pearls of experience I've picked up through trial and error:

Build Order: Get your economy going as quickly as possible. I build SCVs for mineral harvesting until my army size hits 10, then I start construction on a supply depot while I build the 11th SCV. If the timing works out, the 11th will roll out about the time the construction wraps up. At that point I start harvesting gas, dedicating the next three SCVs to those duties (one builds, the others help, then they all harvest). I also build two barracks right at the start. The first one I use to build marines one at a time, and the other I instantly upgrade with the reactor (to build two at a time). When the upgrade finishes, I upgrade the other barracks with a tech lab to build other units. But by alternating the upgrades, I ensure that I'm able to pump out troops, rather than lock both barracks up with the upgrade process.

At that point I move into one of the Starcraft 2 strategies I discussed earlier.

Comments

I've found a Battle Cruiser rush to be too quickly countered, but have had mixed success with guerilla Vikings harassing their naturals or base while we have a big collision engaging most of the units somewhere else on the map!

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Great tip on keeping everything healed/repaired. My favorite tactic is marines, marauders and medivacs.
Fill up 3 or 4 medivacs with marines and marauders and drop your guys in the back of your opponents base. They make quick work of pretty much anything they've got to counter it at that point.

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Csjun89: That's an interesting idea, haven't thought of that. I'll give it a try!
Kevin: I'm a huge fan of that strategy, too. Often times I won't even build mech units, and will instead build massive amounts of ground infantry with support medivacs. Good call!